R.A. DICK’S ACCLAIMED ROMANTIC-FANTASY NOVEL– THE GHOST & MRS. MUIR TO BE ADAPTED INTO A NEW MUSICAL
Having found itself on turbulent seas for many years The Ghost & Mrs. Muir is now headed for clear skies with a new creative team. Under the direction of Kenneth Hoyt (The Blue Hour of Natalie Barney, Arcola: The Sea Plays, and Old Vic Tunnels) this exciting project will feature book & lyrics by Peter Sham (Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical, and Sherlock Holmes and the Great Royal Goose Chase), and music by Kevin Purcell (Rebecca: The Musical and The Stranger From Seville). The writing team is currently in the final stages of bringing To Catch A Thief: The Musical to London’s West End. The Ghost & Mrs. Muir is Josephine Leslie’s (whose pen-name was R.A. Dick) most famous novel. It was made into the beloved classic film directed by Hollywood legend Joseph Mankewicz (All About Eve, Cleopatra), and starred Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. Set in the early 1900s, the fiercely determined young widow Lucy Muir defies convention and moves with her young child to the windswept Gull Cottage, perched on a rugged English cliffside. But her dream of solitude is soon interrupted by the ghostly presence of the home’s former owner—Captain Daniel Gregg, a gruff, charismatic sea captain. His spirit is more than restless, and he refuses to leave the only home he’s ever known. What begins as a battle of wits becomes an extraordinary companionship that neither of them expected.
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir is a timeless tale not of fear—but of courage, independence, and a love that transcends the boundaries of life and death. Director Kenneth Hoyt comments, “I have known all these years that there is a lush and sweeping musical lurking in the pages of the novel. It is a period piece yes, and I do think it holds a sort of classicism in its DNA, but at its heart it is a love story, albeit a haunted one. It has an illustrious history, and a stage version seems a natural fit.” The Ghost & Mrs. Muir hopes to set sail for a West End production in 2028.
TO CATCH A THIEF THE MUSICAL UPDATE!
To Catch A Thief: The Musical celebrated a successful in-concert staged reading at Skylight Music Theatre in Milwaukee, WI, last March 2025. The company was comprised of twenty-eight of Milwaukee’s finest performers, and included the talents of charismatic Australian-American star, Nigel Huckle (as John Robie), Australian musical sensation, Madeleine Featherby (as Francie), well-known Chicago actress, Liz Norton (as Maude), the dynamic, Samatha Sostarich (as Beline), and Broadway veteran, Andrew Varela (as Lepic). The production featured a seven-piece orchestra under the musical direction of Eric Svejcar, and was directed by celebrated regional director and SMT Artistic Director, Michael Unger. The new musical features book and lyrics by BTC producing artistic director, Peter Sham (Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical and Sherlock Holmes and the Great Royal Goose Chase), and a musical score by award-winning composer, Kevin Purcell (Rebecca: The Musical and The Stranger From Seville).
To Catch a Thief is David Dodge's most famous novel, and rightly so, Alfred Hitchcock firmly cinched its place in the annals of crime fiction by adapting it into an Academy Award-winning, classic film starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Set on the French Riviera, the story centers on John Robie, an American expatriate and skilled gymnast, who once upon a time was "Le Chat," the famous and elusive cat burglar who worked the South of France. The legend of Le Chat grew with each crime. Following the war, Robie retires to a quiet life in France and vows to leave his past behind. His retirement is shattered when a copycat burglar commits a string of robberies that puts the police on Le Chat's trail again. Robie must catch the phony Le Chat before the police catch him.
To Catch A Thief: The Musicalis now in its next phase of development. Rewrites and revisions are completed and a full producer’s workshop is currently in development in London. Stay Tuned!
